Ten Questions for Innaway

Tomorrow night, Innaway will be in Houston at Walter’s on Washington, opening for the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Make sure to come check out this show — it will be a good one.

I recently asked Jim Schwartz, lead singer and guitarist of Innaway, a series of questions for the site. He was gracious enough to take time out from the tour to respond.

Enjoy.

Ten Questions for Innaway

HC: How did Innaway get started as a band?

JS: I (Jim Schwartz, vocals/guitar) had been playing guitar in my room by myself and asked Barry Fader (guitar) to play some guitars. He knew Darrick Rasmussen (bass) and Darrick knew Gabe Palmer (drums). My girlfriend, Maori Konishi, played the keys. Before we started recording our album Maori had to move back to Japan and Reid Black took her place on the keys as well as played guitar.

HC: There been a lot of talk in the press about you guys being the second coming of Pink Floyd or a cross between Zeppelin, Floyd, and Radiohead. I am sure you’re amused by (and probably sick of) the constant comparisons. What do YOU consider to be your musical influences?

JS: We ALL never wanted to be compared to those bands. We just were influenced by them. It seems like the press ran with that one. It’s a tough one to be compared to those bands. It’s a little frustrating to read about how we aren’t as good as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin instead of hearing about who we might be better than.

HC: Sometimes, I get the sense that bands are often highly influenced by their surroundings while writing and recording their albums. Do you feel that being from California influenced the songs on your record at all?

JS: I think every experience from the day we were born until the day we finished mixing influenced our music. So yes, being from California had a great deal to do with our sound.

HC: Since your record’s garnering a fair amount of publicity in the indie press these days, what’s your take on the state of the music industry? Are you for or against the MP3 “revolution”? How does Innaway use the internet as a tool to market the band?

JS: I think the music industry is fucked. Capitalism has a stranglehold on soul and these corporate monster record labels are killing music. I am for MP3’s…music is for everyone and the band can make the money we need to survive from playing shows…and we have a website and get a lot of promotion via Filter magazine’s online thing-a-majigger…

HC: How has Some Records helped you guys thus far?

JS: They’ve been great. They put together a very powerful team to market and promote our album. They love our music and have been extremely supportive in spite of our stubbornness.

HC: Your record was mixed by Tortoise’s John McEntire, right? Did he offer up any advice for you guys? Care to elaborate? Are you a fan of his band’s music?

JS: Yeah, John was a cool dude. He was really pretty quiet the entire time we were with him. But being in the same room with him while he worked definitely opened our eyes to limitless possibilities of experimenting with sounds in the studio.

HC: If you could have any band cover one of your songs, what song would it be and what band?

JS: Miles Davis, “Stolen Days”

HC: What is the one description that you hate to hear about your music?

JS: Jam band

HC: I assume you guys are driving while on tour — do you know what Houston’s major airport’s name is? “George Walker on Water” is an obvious rip on Bush. What prompted the song?

JS: I don’t like anything George W. Bush stands for…I think he’s an egotistical war monger with dollar signs in his eyes.

HC: What is in your CD player right now?

JS: Beatles Anthology / Black Mountain / Bob Dylan /Ray Charles

Thanks to Jim from Innaway for taking the time to answer the questions for Houston Calling. And please be sure to check out their concert here this Thursday night at Walter’s with the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Quarter After. Also, pick up their self-titled CD — it’s out now on Some Records and is great. You can order it online here.